Of the 31 ballot measures voters faced in 2013, only 3 were petitioned onto the ballot.

Of the 31 ballot measures voters faced in 2013, only 3 were petitioned onto the ballot.

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Though the official number of ballot measures was 31, five of the seven measures that were on [[Washington 2013 ballot measures|the ballot in Washington]] were non-binding [[advisory question|advisory questions]]. A provision of a 2007 ballot measure, [[Washington Rules for Approving Tax Increases, Initiative 960 (2007)|Initiative 960]], directly led to the placement of these advisory votes on the ballot. Under that approved measure, a statewide advisory vote is required on all tax increases passed by the state legislature. Initiative 960 was sponsored by [[Tim Eyman]] and originally required a two-thirds supermajority in the legislature or a legally binding vote of the people to approve any tax increases or eliminations of tax credits. Though the supermajority requirement was struck down by the {{JP|Washington Supreme Court}} in 2013, the advisory vote clause was left intact.

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Though the official number of ballot measures was 31, five of the seven measures that were on [[Washington 2013 ballot measures|the ballot in Washington]] were non-binding [[advisory question|advisory questions]]. A provision of a 2007 ballot measure, [[Washington Rules for Approving Tax Increases, Initiative 960 (2007)|Initiative 960]], directly led to the placement of these advisory votes on the ballot. Under that approved measure, a statewide advisory vote is required on all tax increases passed by the state legislature. Initiative 960 was sponsored by [[Tim Eyman]] and originally required a two-thirds supermajority in the legislature or a legally binding vote of the people to approve any tax increases or eliminations of tax credits. Though the supermajority requirement was struck down by the {{JP|Washington State Supreme Court}} in 2013, the advisory vote clause was left intact.

Colorado had the latest [[Petition drive deadlines, 2013|signature petition deadline]] in 2013, which fell on Monday, August 5. However, finalizing the ballot was delayed by several weeks due to an extended signature confirmation effort for [[Colorado Tax Increase for Education, Amendment 66 (2013)|Colorado's Amendment 66]]. Supporters turned in 165,706 signatures by the deadline, nearly double the number required. However, after taking a random sample of 8,286 signatures, 3,641 were determined to be invalid. Supporters needed to attain a verification rate of at least 110 percent per any random sample; the sample rate from the signatures selected yielded only 107.88 percent. This triggered the tedious process of reviewing the signatures "line-by-line," delaying the official certification of the measure. Secretary of State [[Scott Gessler]] ultimately determined that 89,820 signatures were valid, thus allowing voters to decide whether or not to raise taxes in order to collect approximately $950 million for public education funding.

Colorado had the latest [[Petition drive deadlines, 2013|signature petition deadline]] in 2013, which fell on Monday, August 5. However, finalizing the ballot was delayed by several weeks due to an extended signature confirmation effort for [[Colorado Tax Increase for Education, Amendment 66 (2013)|Colorado's Amendment 66]]. Supporters turned in 165,706 signatures by the deadline, nearly double the number required. However, after taking a random sample of 8,286 signatures, 3,641 were determined to be invalid. Supporters needed to attain a verification rate of at least 110 percent per any random sample; the sample rate from the signatures selected yielded only 107.88 percent. This triggered the tedious process of reviewing the signatures "line-by-line," delaying the official certification of the measure. Secretary of State [[Scott Gessler]] ultimately determined that 89,820 signatures were valid, thus allowing voters to decide whether or not to raise taxes in order to collect approximately $950 million for public education funding.

Thirty-one ballot questions were certified for a spot on six statewide ballots in 2013. This was the final count for all statewide ballots. In total, 24 were approved, six were defeated, and one of the non-binding advisory questions in Washington remains undecided, as of November 13, 2013.

Of the 31 ballot measures voters faced in 2013, only 3 were petitioned onto the ballot.

Though the official number of ballot measures was 31, five of the seven measures that were on the ballot in Washington were non-binding advisory questions. A provision of a 2007 ballot measure, Initiative 960, directly led to the placement of these advisory votes on the ballot. Under that approved measure, a statewide advisory vote is required on all tax increases passed by the state legislature. Initiative 960 was sponsored by Tim Eyman and originally required a two-thirds supermajority in the legislature or a legally binding vote of the people to approve any tax increases or eliminations of tax credits. Though the supermajority requirement was struck down by the Washington State Supreme Court in 2013, the advisory vote clause was left intact.

Colorado had the latest signature petition deadline in 2013, which fell on Monday, August 5. However, finalizing the ballot was delayed by several weeks due to an extended signature confirmation effort for Colorado's Amendment 66. Supporters turned in 165,706 signatures by the deadline, nearly double the number required. However, after taking a random sample of 8,286 signatures, 3,641 were determined to be invalid. Supporters needed to attain a verification rate of at least 110 percent per any random sample; the sample rate from the signatures selected yielded only 107.88 percent. This triggered the tedious process of reviewing the signatures "line-by-line," delaying the official certification of the measure. Secretary of State Scott Gessler ultimately determined that 89,820 signatures were valid, thus allowing voters to decide whether or not to raise taxes in order to collect approximately $950 million for public education funding.

To read week-by-week reports detailing how the 2013 ballot came together, see the archive of Tuesday Count reports.

Number of measures

2013 turned out to be a year with an unusually low number of measures on the ballot. Historically, elections on odd-numbered years see approximately 45 measures on average; there were 34 in 2011. Going back to 1989, the average number of measures on the ballot in an odd-numbered year is slightly over 42, with about 9 states featuring ballot measures. With only 31 statewide measures on the ballot in 6 states, 2013 had less than half the average number of measures on the ballot.

2013 was also a historically low year for the number of measures that were petitioned onto the ballot. In 2013, there were only three such measures on statewide ballots: Colorado Amendment 66, Washington I-517 and Washington I-522. This compares to an average of 7.1 such measures from 1993 through 2011.[1]

Measures of note

Though 2013 ballots featured a comparatively low number of measures, there were still several that garnered significant media attention and discussion in their respective states. Colorado's Amendment 66 had equally long lists of both supporters and opponents. The measure would have raised a projected total of $950 million for funding public education by increasing the state's income tax rate. It would also have allowed for the implementation of the new Public School Finance Act Senate Bill 213, which was passed by the legislature but cannot be enacted because Amendment 66 was defeated. Supporters of Amendment 66 spent a record-shattering $11.05 per required signature to qualify the measure for the ballot.

Of the nine legislatively-referred constitutional amendments on this year's Texas ballot, one measure in particular, Proposition 6, had stolen the spotlight. The measure asked voters whether an amendment should be implemented to create the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) and the State Water Implementation Revenue Fund for Texas to assist in the financing of priority projects in the state water plan. Approximately $2 billion would be withdrawn from the Texas Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF) - colloquially referred to as the Rainy Day Fund - to finance the newly created funds. Supporters believed that approving this measure would be vital to the stability and economic health of the state, as water shortages have been an issue in recent years due to a severe drought. Opponents believed that creating the two new funds would be unnecessary and also disagreed that money from the ESF should be raided and put toward this issue.

In Washington, the issue of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) was the hottest topic on this year's Washington ballot. If approved by voters, the GMO-related measure, Initiative 522, would have required GMO labeling on raw or processed food offered for sale to consumers if the food is made from plants or animals with genetic material changed in specified ways. Support and opposition campaigns poured millions of dollars into the campaign. A poll conducted September 3 - 5, 2013 showed that 66 percent of voters support the measure, 21 percent are opposed, and 13 percent are undecided. A similar measure, California's Proposition 37, was narrowly defeated on November 6, 2012. Proposition 37 enjoyed a 61% lead in the polls in early September; roughly $45.6 million was spent to defeat it.